Ruling or lining instrument



April 3 H. M. M CLURE 2,634,707

RULING 0R LINING INSTRUMENT Filed Dec. 2, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Fig.6

INVENTOR. HUGH M. m owns April 14, 1953 H. M. M CLURE 2,634,707

' RULING 0R LINING INSTRUMENT Filed Dec. 2, 1948 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 4 INVENTOR. M. GLURE L [02 V B HUGH M W Patented Apr. 14, 1953 2,634,707- RULING R LINING INSTRUMENT Hugh M. McClure, Chicago, 111., assignor to Keuffel & Esser Company, ration of New Jersey Hoboken,

N. 3., a corpo- Application December 2, 1948, Serial No. 63,150

This invention relates to ruling or lining instruments such as may be used by draftsmen or architects. In particular, it relates to a recently developed type of ruling or lining instrument, devised to permit the drawing of lines of predetermined width and extraordinary length. The above identified ruling instrument is the subject of a copending application Serial No. 607,567, now Patent No. 2,464,763, of which this application is a continuation in part. This invention involves certain improvements of the instrument described in the parent application,

I The instrument described in the parent application had nibs formed from sheet metal. A single piece of sheet metal bent in U form was used for both nibs. In the present invention the nibs are made from two pieces of metal separated by a spacing member which spaces the nibs at a predetermined distance equal to the desired line width. By changing the width of this spaclngmember pens which will draw lines of different relative weights or widths can be produced up to the limiting spacing of nibs or blades which will still retain the ink. Beyond this point it is necessary to provide additional ink holding means between the blades. The invention seeks also to provide a novel means of doing this.

- The principal object of the invention is to pro vide a ruling instrument having all the advantages of the previously identified. instrument but having a construction which permits the instrument to be more readily manufactured and which is therefore more suitable for commercial development.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for retaining ink in pens of this type for drawing lines wider than the maximum ink retaining separation of the nib surfaces.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for permitting the pen to draw extremely fine lines without clogging of the pen.

These and other objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a View in plan showing a ruling ir1- strument according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a view in elevation showing the ruling instrument of Figure l.

Figure 3 is a view in sectional elevation taken through the line 3--3 of Figure 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a view in plan showing one nib or blade of the ruling instrument of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a view in side elevation showing 5 Claims. (Cl. 120-110) points I 0 and I2 to regions of the ruling portion of a ruling instrument for drawing wide lines provided with novel ink retaining means.

Figure 6 is a View in end elevation of the embodiment shown in Figure 5 looking from the point to the handle of the ruling instrument.

Figure 7 is a view in plan showing the filler used in the ruling instrument of Figure 5.

Figure 8 is a view in plan showing a second embodiment of a ruling instrument for drawing wide lines.

Figure 9 is a view in elevation showing the ruling instrument of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a view in plan showing the separate parts for making up the nib of the instrument of Figure 8.

Figure 11 is a view in enlarged sectional elevation taken along the line H--ll of Figure 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 12 is a view in plan of one blade for an instrument similar to that of Figure 2 but being adapted for drawing very fine lines.

Figure 13 is a'view in end elevation of the nib end of a ruling instrument for drawing very fine lines made of two blades as shown in Figure 12 looking from the direction of the point of the instrument.

Referring to Figures 1-4, the blades or nibs 2 and 4 are formed of metal preferably hardened steel. The inner surfaces of the blades or nibs 2 and 4 as shown in Figure 2, are extended surfaces at'an ink retaining distance and are held substantially parallel to each other by the spacing member 6. The spacing member 6 is also preferably of hardened steel and has substantially piano-parallel surfaces for engaging the inner surfaces of the blades 2 and 4. The thickness of the spacing member 6 or the distance between its parallel surfaces is chosen to provide a separation between the parallel spaced blades that will permit the pen to draw lines of a desired width only. The blades 2 and 4 and the spacing member 6 are held together as by means of the screws 8. This may be accomplished by providing clearance holes in the spacing member 8, threaded holes in the blade 4 and recessed clearance holes in the blade 2.

At one end, the blades or nibs 2 and 4 are formed to points ill and I2. The points It and [2 are preferably rounded to a small radius. Near the points In and I2, the nibs 2 and 4 are sharpened from the exposed surfaces to a sharp edge M. The sharpening operation forms a bevel it on the outer or exposed surface of the blade. expand from the extended surface The blades or nibs 2 and A area spaced in parallelism substantially throughout their entire area. Because of these extended surface areas spaced in parallelism the pen is capable of holding large quantities of ink and retaining this ink when the pen is in an upright position for drawing lines. Thus the blades or nibs 2 and 4 form their own ink retaining reservoir and provide the only ink reservoir of the instrument.

Since the blades 2 and 4 are separate pieces of metal it is a relatively simple matter to grind their surfaces (particularly their inner surfaces) flat. The spacing member 6 may also be readily ground so as to have plano-parallel surfaces. The bevel IE on the blades is also readily provided by grinding and is so formed that it may be sharpened on a stone after the instrument has been assembled and is in use.

A ferrule I8 is provided for mounting the spaced parallel blades on the handle 20. The ferrule I8 is formed preferably of metal such as brass and has a broached hole 22 in which the assembled blades 2 and 4 are forced and held by a press fit. The blades 2 and 4 (see Fig. 4) are provided with extending portions 24 which fit into the hole 22 of the ferrule I 8 and secure the blades thereto. The ferrule I8 is provided with an extending portion 26 fitting into a hole in the handle 20 and securing the ferrule to which the blades or nibs may be attached to the handle 20. The handle 20 may be molded with the ferrule I8 as an insert or the handle may be shrunk around the extending portion 20 of the ferrule I8 to hold it thereto.

The ferrule may be knurled as shown to provide a grip for the users fingers and the handle 20 may be tapered for comfortable holding and provided with decorative effects as the annular notch 28. The pen is filled by placing ink between the parallel surfaces of the nibs or blades 2 and 4 and if desired the blades may be notched as at 3| in order to facilitate the filling operation.

The principal advantage gained through the invention resides in forming the nibs or blades from two separate pieces of metal preferably hardened steel and providing a spacer or spacing member with piano-parallel walls therebetween. The blades or nibs 2 and 4 will be the same as shown regardless of the size of the spacer. Diiferent pens ferent widths or weight require only a change in spacer. This facilitates the manufacture of the pen. When made as described the pen may be accurately machined, has good rigidity and sta-- bility, feels well in the'hand, may be sharpened readily and holds its edge long particularly if made of hardened steel.

In pens for drawing lines of greater width it is necessary to employ additional ink retaining means such as the thin sheet 30 preferably of metal. The sheet 30 may be coiled or corrugated so as to provide walls 32 which are substantially parallel to each other and substantially parallel to the inner surfaces of the blades or nibs 2 and I. The thin sheet 30 may be provided in other than coiled or corrugated form it being only essential that it provide surfaces in ink retaining relation to each other. The spacing between the surfaces 32 provided by the thin sheet 30 and the internal surfaces of the blades 2 and 4 if the latter are also used for ink retaining purposes should be substantially equal and should be less than the maximum spacing which will retain ink. The ink retaining filler made from the coiled thin sheet 30 should conform as closely as for drawing lines of difpossible to the shape of the blades 2 and 4 in the view of Figs. 1 and 4, at the point 35. The corner 37 of the ink retaining filler 30 extends beyond the blades 2 and 4 and provides a convenient place for introducing ink to the instrument. A hole 39 is provided in each of the parallel surfaces formed by the thin sheet 30 near the point 35 to permit the ink to flow from one ink retaining space to the other in order to keep the same ink level in all spaces.

By making use of this ink-retaining filler the usefulness of the new pen is extended to pens for drawing lines of very heavy weight or width. Each particular pen is made for drawing lines of one width only, however, and will consistently reproduce lines of that width. To make pens of other widths it is only necessary to use a different spacer as described and for wide line pens to insert an ink retaining filler 30, having the appropriate number of coils or surfaces of the thin sheet to provide suflicient ink retaining reservoirs for that size pen.

Figures 8, 9, 10 and 11 illustrate another embodiment for drawing wide lines which also provides walls substantially parallel to each other and to the blades of the pen but which is constructed in a different manner that has certain advantages which will be explained.

This embodiment has two blades I02 and I04 which are generally of the same shape as the blade shown in the other embodiments although they are not provided with an extending portion such as 24 in Fig. 4. One or more other blades of similar shape are held between the blades I02 and I 04. In the embodiment as shown two other blades I0! and I09 are provided. Spacers I06, I08 and H0 are provided between each pair of blades. The number of blades similar to I01 and I09 which are used depends on the width of the line which the pen is constructed to draw. In any pen a sufficient number of blades must be provided so that the distance between adjacent blades does not exceed the maximum ink retaining difference.

The blade I02 is provided with recessed clearance holes and the blade I 00 is provided with threaded holes. The blades I01 and I09 and the spacers I06, I08 and H0 are provided with clearance holes. Thus the blades and spacers may be conveniently assembled and held together by two screws H2 and H4. The blades I01 and H19 and the spacers I05, I08 and H0 are provided with extending ends H0, H1, H8, H9 and I20 which fit into the ferrule I 28. The ferrule I28 may be provided with a broached hole as in Fig. 3 to receive these extending ends or it may be vided to hold the assembled blades and spacers securely in the ferrule I 28. The blades I02 and I04 are not provided with extending ends merely to reduce the necessary diameter of the ferrule I28. The ferrule I28 is provided with extending portion I26 for securing it to the handle I40.

The blades I02, I01 and I99 may be notched vided with holes I 39 and I 4| to permit the ink to flow from one ink retaining space to the other same ink level in all the spaces. It will be appreciated that the embodiment of I01, and I 89 substantially "not let go of the ink. this effect can be prevented and The same is true of the spacers I28. It is only necessary to select pen suitable for drawing lines of any desired width may be assembled. It is, of course, necessary to bevel the outside blades and add such incidental features as the holes His and MI and the notches l3i, I33 and I35. When ferrule I28 of the type shown in Fig. 11 is used it is also interchangeable for different width pens.

When pens of the type of Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 are made to draw, lines of less than a certain limiting-width which is in the neighborhood of .010 of an inch the pens will not perform satisfa'ctorily. Under these conditions the pen will It was discovered that pens can be made whichwill produce extremely fine lines by providing a groove such as the groove 2% in Fig. 12 in the insidesurface of each blade. The groove 203 runs along the blade in a direction substantially parallel to the handle of the pen and ends close to the point 2H3 of the blade 292. Good results have been obtained with the groove 203 displaced about as of an inch from the point 210.

When the blades 2112 and 284 are assembled as shown in Fig. 13 the grooves 203 and 205 coincide to form a channel through which ink may flow to the vicinity of the point.

The principal advantage gained through the invention resides in forming the nibs or blades from two separate hardened steel and providing a spacer or spacing member with plano-parallel walls therebetween. This construction is extended to provide embodiments suitable for drawing wider lines or narrower lines than is possible with the main embodiment. It should be understood that other means may be employed for holding the nibs and spacer together such as rivets, soldering, brazing, welding or the like and that other means may be used for joining the handle within the spirit and scope of the invention. No limitations of the invention are intended other than those imposed by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A ruling or lining pen for drawing lines of extended length and predetermined width comprising hard rigid members having surfaces of extended surface area spaced substantially in parallelism at an ink retaining distance from each other substantially throughout their entire area whereby said surfaces cooperate to store the entire supply of ink and thereby form the entire ink retaining reservoir, said hard rigid members being provided with tapered edges extending to a rounded point, the outer exposed surfaces of said hard rigid members being sharpened from the exposed surfaces near the point to a sharp edge at the parallel surfaces at least at said point, a spacer having parallel surfaces in contact with a considerable portion of the parallel surfaces of said hard rigid members forming a backbone for the pen extending relatively close to said points to space said surfaces in parallelism, to keep said surfaces rigidly spaced at an ink retaining distance and to keep the outer exposed sharpened points at the proper spacing for drawing lines of the predetermined width, means securing said members and said spacer together and means securing said members to a handle.

pieces of metal preferably blades or nibs to the 2. A' ruling or lining pen-for drawing lines of .extended length and predeterminedwidth having two similar hard rigid nib members of extended surface area spaced in parallelism at an ink retaining distance from each other substantially throughout their entire area whereby said hard rigid nib members cooperate to store the entire supply of ink and thereby form the entire ink retaining reservoir, each hard rigid nib member being tapered to a point, the tapered edges of the two mb members near the point being sharpened from the exposed surfaces of the members to a sharp edge at the parallel adjacent surfaces at least at said point, a spacer having parallel surfaces mounted betweenthe hard rigid nib members in contact with a considerable portion of the parallel surfaces f said members forming a backbone for the pen extending relatively close to said points to space. said surfaces in parallelism, tokeep said surfaces rigidly spaced at an ink retaining distance and to keep the outer ex-- posed sharpened points at the proper spacing for drawing lines of the predetermined width, means securing the nib members and said spacer together and means securing said nib'members to ahandle.

3. A ruling or lining pen for drawing lines of extended length and predetermined width having two similar hard rigid nib members of extended surface area spaced in arallelism, a thin sheet between said nib membess to provide a plurality of ink retaining reservoirs formed by surfaces of extended surface area which are spaced in substantial parallelism and are substantially parallel to the internal surfaces of said nib members and at an ink retaining distance from other substantially parallel surfaces substantially throughout their entire area whereby said surfaces cooperate to store the entire supply of ink and thereby form the entire ink retaining reservoirs, each nib member being tapered to a point, the tapered edges of the two nibs near the point being sharpened from the exposed surfaces of the nibs to a sharp edge at the parallel adjacent surfaces at least at said point, a spacer having parallel surfaces in contact with a considerable portion of the parallel surfaces of said hard rigid nib members forming a backbone for the pen extending relatively close to said points to space said surfaces in parallelism and to keep the outer exposed sharpened points at the proper spacing for drawing lines of the predetermined width, means securing said nib members to a handle.

4. A ruling or lining pen for drawing lines of extended length and predetermined width having at least three similar hard rigid nib members of extended surface area spaced substantially in parallelism to form a plurality of surfaces of extended surface area at an ink retaining distance from each other substantially throughout their entire area whereby said surfaces cooperate to store the entire supply of ink and thereby form the entire ink retaining reservoir, each nib member being tapered to a point, the tapered edges of the two outer nib members near the point being sharpened from the exposed surfaces of the nib members to a sharp edge at the parallel adjacent surfaces at least at said point, a spacing member having parallel surfaces mounted between each pair of rigid nib members in contact with a considerable portion of the parallel surfaces of said hard rigid nib members forming a backbone for the pen extending relatively close to said points to space said surfaces in parallelism, to keep said surfaces rigidly spaced at an 'ink retaining distance and to keep the 'outer for drawing lines of the predetermined width,

means securing the nib members and spacing members together and means securing said nib members to a handle.

5. A ruling or lining pen for drawing lines of extended length and a predetermined very narrow width having two similar hard rigid nib members of extended surface area spaced in parallelism at an ink retaining distance from each other substantially throughout their entire area whereby said nib members cooperate to store the entire supply of ink and thereby form the entire ink retaining reservoir, each nib member being tapered to a point, the tapered edges of the two nib members near the point being sharpened from the exposed surfaces of the nib members to a sharp edge at the parallel adjacent surfaces at least at said point, a spacer having parallel surfaces in contact with a considerable portion of the parallel surfaces of said hard rigid nib members forming a backbone for the pen extending relatively close to said points to space said surfaces in parallelism, to keep said surfaces rigidly spaced at an ink retaining distance and to keep the outer exposed sharpened points at the proper spacing for drawing lines of the predetermined width, means securing said nib mem bers and said spacer together, the spacing of said nib members being so close-that they will not readily release the ink, each of said nib members being provided with oppositely placed grooves in their inner surfaces extending to the edges of the nib members but at a small distance a handle attached to the from the points and HUGH M. McCLURE.

nib members.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 860,962 Butterworth July 23, 1907 1,111,347 Young Sept. 22, 1914 2,464,763 McClure Mar. 15, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 20,767 Germany Jan. 13, 1883 85,611 Germany Feb. 24, 1896 379,779 France Sept. 17, 1907 498,377 Germany May 21, 1930 Great Britain July 10, 1930 

